Blue Cheer's Dickie Peterson Dies at 61

Dickie Peterson, founding bassist and vocalist for incredibly heavy, riff-laden hard rock trio Blue Cheer, passed away early Monday (October 12) morning in Germany, according to various media reports. While the details are still sketchy, Peterson reportedly died after a long battle with liver cancer.

Born in 1948, Peterson was a member of Blue Cheer for their initial line-up, along with other incarnations of the group. He played bass and served as the band's front-man on such albums as the legendary Vincebus Eruptum (1968) and Outsideinside (1968), both of which played a hugely influential role in the building blocks of modern punk, grunge and metal. Despite a revolving cast of players over Blue Cheer's 40 years, Peterson was a constant in the band.